Make Time to Visit Alaska
10-13-2015
Author: Blog Editor in JeepandRV
Alaska should not be on your bucket list, which means you are putting it off for some day in the future. This should be on your next vacation/road trip list. Alaska is beyond amazing and sadly it is no longer a hidden gem but it is still some of the most awe inspiring scenery you will ever see.
It is hard to say what my favorite part of Alaska was as we did so many amazing things this summer that I never thought to do. Alaska is definitely one of those trips where you need to give yourself some time, one it is huge but even more importantly it has many facets.
Here is a brief run down of my favorite spots in the Kenai Peninsula. Homer has some of the best views for photography as well as great fishing. We were able to catch salmon from the lagoon on the spit as well as chartering a boat for halibut. We also caught a water taxi to hike up to a lake with calved glaciers floating up to shore. Homer has a great small town atmosphere yet still is large enough to have all of your shopping needs, the people are friendly, and The Little Mermaid has the best brick oven pizza that we have found all year.
For river fishing you need to try out Soldotna as it is an experience found very few other places, they call it combat fishing and when you see the fishermen shoulder to shoulder whipping hooks back and forth you can see why the ER sees so many hook injuries. At the same time the peace found on the river while trying to catch the elusive salmon still fills my soul.
For the old fishing village feel then you need to head down to Seward. This town is all about the fishing except for the 4th of July when it turns into a party town with one of the craziest races found around, worth googling a youtube video to see. The SeaLife Center is small but packed with great exhibits as well as behind the scene tours. This is also where Exit Glacier is located. This was my favorite hike in Alaska! There are two different hikes (we did them both but on different days). The easier hike takes you to the face of the glacier, on the way you pass markers showing where the glacier was 100 yrs ago down to two years ago. The rate that this is melting makes you cry and can not be ignored. The other hike is a leg burner. You climb up 3000 feet through several different layers of foliage and animals. On the way we spotted marmot, mountain goats, and a black bear. You get to see the glacier from below, beside, and above with all of its blue brilliance. We did not make it to the top this year so have a goal for next year but we did make it to where you find the snow fields and icy glacier melt off. The photo shows us above the clouds that rolled in while we were climbing. My husband and I are both very competitive so as we were climbing we would ask the other if they were ready to go back yet, since neither of us wanted to call "uncle" we kept going even though our original plan was to climb to the first stop but by the end we had climbed up about 4 miles and what goes up must come down.
We spent three months in Alaska and yet barely got to see it, I know we were working so did not have all of that time spent exploring but then we met "Alaskans" born and bred who were still finding new places to visit in their own state. We saw many people try to do it all so they spent most of the trip moving from place to place. My recommendation would be to plan on more than one trip, divide the state up into quarters, and then work your way through one quarter a trip. That gives you the time to not only see the scenery but to meet some of the most colorful people to be found in the USA. Alaska should not be rushed.
.jpg "Alaska Landscape")
It is hard to say what my favorite part of Alaska was as we did so many amazing things this summer that I never thought to do. Alaska is definitely one of those trips where you need to give yourself some time, one it is huge but even more importantly it has many facets.
Here is a brief run down of my favorite spots in the Kenai Peninsula. Homer has some of the best views for photography as well as great fishing. We were able to catch salmon from the lagoon on the spit as well as chartering a boat for halibut. We also caught a water taxi to hike up to a lake with calved glaciers floating up to shore. Homer has a great small town atmosphere yet still is large enough to have all of your shopping needs, the people are friendly, and The Little Mermaid has the best brick oven pizza that we have found all year.
For river fishing you need to try out Soldotna as it is an experience found very few other places, they call it combat fishing and when you see the fishermen shoulder to shoulder whipping hooks back and forth you can see why the ER sees so many hook injuries. At the same time the peace found on the river while trying to catch the elusive salmon still fills my soul.
For the old fishing village feel then you need to head down to Seward. This town is all about the fishing except for the 4th of July when it turns into a party town with one of the craziest races found around, worth googling a youtube video to see. The SeaLife Center is small but packed with great exhibits as well as behind the scene tours. This is also where Exit Glacier is located. This was my favorite hike in Alaska! There are two different hikes (we did them both but on different days). The easier hike takes you to the face of the glacier, on the way you pass markers showing where the glacier was 100 yrs ago down to two years ago. The rate that this is melting makes you cry and can not be ignored. The other hike is a leg burner. You climb up 3000 feet through several different layers of foliage and animals. On the way we spotted marmot, mountain goats, and a black bear. You get to see the glacier from below, beside, and above with all of its blue brilliance. We did not make it to the top this year so have a goal for next year but we did make it to where you find the snow fields and icy glacier melt off. The photo shows us above the clouds that rolled in while we were climbing. My husband and I are both very competitive so as we were climbing we would ask the other if they were ready to go back yet, since neither of us wanted to call "uncle" we kept going even though our original plan was to climb to the first stop but by the end we had climbed up about 4 miles and what goes up must come down.
We spent three months in Alaska and yet barely got to see it, I know we were working so did not have all of that time spent exploring but then we met "Alaskans" born and bred who were still finding new places to visit in their own state. We saw many people try to do it all so they spent most of the trip moving from place to place. My recommendation would be to plan on more than one trip, divide the state up into quarters, and then work your way through one quarter a trip. That gives you the time to not only see the scenery but to meet some of the most colorful people to be found in the USA. Alaska should not be rushed.
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